School of Nursing

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https://hdl.handle.net/2440/84545
This collection contains Honours, Masters and Ph.D by coursework theses from University of Adelaide postgraduate students within the School of Nursing. The material has been approved as making a significant contribution to knowledge.

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Browsing School of Nursing by Advisors "Kitson, Alison Lydia"

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    Factors for perioperative nurse retention: an inquiry into the lived experience of perioperative nurses.
    (2013) Mewett, Sharon Ann; Perry, Josephine; Kitson, Alison Lydia; School of Nursing
    Background: Current literature concludes that a global nursing shortage has a profound impact on the workplace, consumers of healthcare, on recruitment, professional development, job satisfaction and retention. In Australia, as in worldwide, the specialty of perioperative nursing has been identified as one of the key areas suffering these issues. Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate nurse recruitment, retention and job satisfaction within the specialty of perioperative nursing. Method: A total of 8 registered nurses (RN’s) currently practicing in the perioperative field, located at an outer metropolitan healthcare facility, participated in the study. The design that was used for the study was an interpretive hermeneutic phenomenological method that was informed by van Manen (1990). Instruments with auditable reliability and validity were used for data collection. The sample’s characteristics reported in this thesis, were similar to the demographic characteristics described in recent Australian Institute of Health and Welfare reports and were of sufficient scale and scope to provide a reliable and thorough picture of the phenomena of recruitment, job satisfaction and retention among perioperative nurses. Results: Through taped interviews and subsequent analysis to detect patterns and themes, the study findings demonstrated that South Australian perioperative nurses are experiencing moderate to high levels of dissatisfaction in the workplace. Furthermore, many of the participants’ additional comments locate the major source of their dissatisfaction as organisational and professional issues. Findings also indicated an intention to remain working in nursing and in particular the perioperative specialty, only in regards to the proximity of work to home and general convenience. Conclusions: The results of this study provide an interpretive description of, and some personal perspectives of SA perioperative nurses’ current job satisfaction and their intention to leave the specialty. These findings have ramifications for management in the development of strategies aimed at improving the job satisfaction, and ultimately the retention of nurses within the specialty of perioperative nursing.
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    ItemOpen Access
    Patient satisfaction in the ambulatory oncology setting: are patients' needs being met? A descriptive study.
    (2011) Hoberg, Deborah; Kitson, Alison Lydia; Zwart, Elizabeth; School of Nursing
    Background: Cancer is a leading cause of death in Australia. Its increasing incidence and prevalence predicts that by age 85 one in two Australians will face a cancer diagnosis. Improved diagnostics and treatment advances now mean that many more Australians are living with cancer and recent drug and technological advances have allowed the move from a predominantly inpatient setting to that of outpatient clinics and day centres. Purpose: The study aimed to examine patient satisfaction in a single institution outpatient oncology centre with the primary aim of recording baseline data. Data collected from the study will be used to identify any areas of unmet needs and to identify areas requiring further improvement or development as well as to evaluate future initiatives with the primary aim of building a service that is better aligned to patient needs and therefore increases patient satisfaction. Methods: A modified version of the EORTC-INPATSAT32 with 8 additional questions was administered to 168 adult oncology patients who attended a single institution cancer centre for either intravenous chemotherapy or routine follow up during active treatment. All participants were provided with a participant information sheet outlining the aim and purpose of the study and consent was implied by completion of the questionnaire. Results: One hundred and sixty eight participants took part in the study reporting mean satisfaction scores for all 14 aspects of care above 85. Scores were compared with previously determined acceptable levels adopted from surveys undertaken with inpatients in Western Australia and South Australia and showed wait time, exchange of information between caregivers and nurses availability and information provision to be areas requiring improvement. Age, gender, primary diagnosis, length of time as patient and treatment route were not found to predict satisfaction. The most common issues commented upon in the free text section related favourably to staff and unfavourably to the suggested introduction of paid parking. Conclusions: Overall satisfaction rates were quite high. Low scoring areas were identified as areas requiring improvement however it appears that the tool may not be sensitive enough for quality improvement purposes due to its limitations. Areas requiring further research have been identified.